Abner johnston



(No Model.)

A. JOHNSTON.

FRUIT GATHERING VESSEL.

Patented Jung 26, 1883.

Invento-r Attorney N. PETERQ Phalnblhagnphar. Washingion, n. c.

UNITED STATES Ari 2N1 OFFICE.

ABNER JOHNSTON, or CORNWALL, New vonx.

FRUIT-GATHERING VESSEL.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,185, dated June 26, 1883.

' i Application filed March 17, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABNER JOHNSTON, formerly of Bainbridge, in the county of Ghenango and State of New York, but now of Cornwall, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Fruit-Gathering Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of fruitgatherers in which the bottom is hinged to the body and provided with means for keeping the same in its normal position until it is desired to empty the contents of the gatherer.

In fruit-gathering vessels of this class heretofore made the bottom does not open automatically, but must be operated by some additional means after the vessel has been lowered, and in some rods or cords running through the body of the vessel and attached to the bottom are necessary in order to close the bottom and hold it closed after the vessel has been emptied.

These cords or rods are objectionable, inasmuch as they are apt to interfere with the free discharge of the fruit and also injure the same.

My invention consists in a pail provided with abottom that will open automatically, and which does not require any such rods or cords or other devices inside the vessel to close the bottom after the contents of the pail have been discharged.- Inthe accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view of an ap paratus embracing my said invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view thereof, but taken in a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view thereof. Fig. 4 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, corresponding to the lower portion of Fig. 1.

A is the body of the pail or vessel, which may be made of wood, tin, or other material, and may be of cylindrical or other suitable shape, but preferably gradually enlarging toward the bottom,in order the more readily to discharge its contents, as hereinafter explained.

B is the bottom of the pail, which, instead of being permanently fixed within the body A,

is attached thereto by a hinge or pivot, as shown at a, and is held in position, while the pail is being filled,by the bar or bolt 0, hereinafter described.

Placed underneath the bottom B, and in a line substantially at right angles to the axis of the hinge or pivot a, is a sliding bar, 0, the

shown at V6, to a stud or bracket, f, which proj e'cts downward from the bottom B. The outer extremity of the elbow-lever D is preferably .broadenedto form a leaf or plate, as shown at g.

E is a bail.

'm is a hook attached to the bail, by means of, which the pail may be suspended from the branch of a tree.

F is arope by which the pail may be lowered when filled and raised when emptied.

When the bottom of the pail is closed,'the outer end of the bar 0 is received into a hole or slot, h, in the side of the pail, and the bottom B is thereby securely held in place while the pail is being filled, the-weight of thebroad and outer end of the lever D being sufficient to hold the bar 0 in position. Vhen the long arm or free extremity-in other words, the leaf or plate gof the lever D is pushed upward with reference to the body A, the bolt or bar 0 will be withdrawn from the hole or slot h,-thereby disengaging the edge I from the body A and permitting the bottom B to swing outward around the pivot or hinge a.

The operation of the device is as follows: The bottom B having been fixed in position by means of the bar or bolt 0, the end of which is received into the hole or sloth, as before explained, the pail is filledwith fruit, which done, it is lowered by means of the rope F into a barrel or other receptacle. WVhen the free extremity or g of the lever D comes in contact with the bottom of the barrel or with-the fruit already in the barrel, it is pushed upward, and the bolt or bar 0 is thereby withdrawn from the hole or slot h, thus disengaging the bottom B. By means of the rope F the pail is then lifted, and the bottom B is thereby caused to swing downward around the hinge a, and the contents of the pail are discharged into the barrel. The pail may then be raised into the tree again, the bottom again placed in position, and the operation repeated indefinitely.

I find that it isbetter to make the opening in the bottom of the pail larger than the opening" at the top, rather than vice versa, as the ICIO Of course I do not intend to limit myself to] 2. A fruit-gathering vessel provided with a the precise devices herein described to open and shut the bottom of the pail, but any simi lar mechanism may be used instead thereof.

I do not broadly claim a tripping device operated automatically by the weight of the vessel when said tripping device is subjected to resistance in the descent of the vessel, as I am aware that such a device has heretofore been employed in connection with a gatherer having an opening in the side.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A fruit-gathering vessel provided with an open-bottomed body, a bottom secured thereto adapted to open downward, a fastening device for securing the bottom in its normal. position, and a tripping device operated by the weight of the vessel when said tripping device is subjected to resistance in the descent of the vessel, substantially as described.

body having the opening at the bottom larger than the opening at the top, and a bottom for closing said large opening adapted to open downward, means for holding the bottom in a closed position, and a tripping device operated by the weight of the vessel to release the bot tom, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the open-bottom body A, movable bottom B,'hinge or pivot a, bolt or bar 0, the outer end of which is received into the hole or sloth, the lever D, actuating the bar 0, hook m, bail E, and rope F, the said parts being combined and arranged in relation to each other substantially as and for the purposes set forth. ABNER JOHNSTON. I \Vitnesses:

THOMAS OoLLINs, S. PERI'I RAWILE. 

